I am for the most part a Sage hound and love the selection Sage rods in my arsenal. The ZXL I believe is rated medium-medium fast by Sage.

Having said this, I also own one BIIX, a 10ft 7wt for Steelies. I've also cast the BIIX and really love that rod in the 8-8'6 4WT, which may be the perfect dry fly rod at least for me. Something about that soft Winston feel that I really enjoy..It either sings to you or doesn't.

ZXL at Medium-Medium Fast by Sage does not equate to Medium by Winston Standards. I haven't fished a WT or a BIIT but I have seen them and cast them. I'd say the ZXL is a touch faster, but no where close to the fast action on a Z Axis. From a Sage standpoint, this may be the rod for you to consider, or think about a TXL.

I'm considering picking up a BIIX before they're gone because I like that rod that much, or possibly opting for the newer GVX or testing out a BIIIX to see what I think of it. Not sure it's what I'm looking for since it's going to be more like a Z Axis in terms of action.

Good luck, let us know what you end up with and what leads you to your decision.

jdaddy wrote:OOOOhhhhh yaaaaa. Question. Have you tried the BIIIx yet? Want to? Or are you in love with slower action rods? BIIIx is just awesome. Blend between BIIMX (slower) with at BETTER feel than the WT to a point that I sold my WT. I never owned at BIIt, didn't see the point with WT and BIIx both in production. I guess now that WT is special order, BIIt makes a little more sense.

PAlongbow (or something like that) is here in the reading area as well and I think he still has WT and BIIIx in 4wt. Remember the WT is a 3 piece rod. But seriously, the FEEL and WEIGHT, along with the cork quality on the BIII is sick. I have never saw such nice cork.

Have to agree on the cork quality. Even the Vapors had top notch cork.

The two single biggest knocks on the BiiX series was that the tip and mid/butt sections are mismatched (tip too soft, mid/butt sections too stiff) and there is inconsistency in performance between line weights and even rod lengths within a given line weight (some rods are great, others not so great). There was a rumor circulating on the Winston site a long time ago that the reason for the inconsistency between line weights and lengths was because Winston screwed up and used the wrong mandrels on some of the rods.

The result of the mismatch between tip and mid/butt section is the rod doesn’t transfer power effectively making distance casting (50 feet or more) not as easy as it should. And while the soft tip is great for accurate tip casting at close ranges, the softness causes accuracy problems at greater distances. Simply put, the rod can’t perform at distances like the Z-Axis.

This design flaw/mismatch is why Winston immediately introduced the BiiMX series, which is probably a bit faster than the Z-Axis. But it still left a hole in the Winston lineup because Winston did not have a rod that competed directly with the Z-Axis and now the new Loomis NXR. So Winston came out with the BiiiX series, which is what the original BiiX series was supposed to be.

Although everyone has a preference for rod design/feel, based on the streams you fish and the fact that you like to fish dries at close ranges, I personally feel you would be well suited with a WT or BiiT. Don’t be afraid to go 5wt in either series. I use the 9’, 5wt WT (medium) and it performs well at close ranges, can handle wind, has great feel, can throw heavy streamers when needed and can easily reach out to 50 feet with little effort. Will it cast much further? Not really unless you horse it but it’s not designed to be a cannon. The other rods I would suggest trying are the 8.5’, 5wt (medium-fast) and 4wt (medium) in the WT series and the 9’, 5wt and 8.5’, 4wt in the BiiT series (both medium).

As much as I love my Z-Axis, it struggles presenting dries at short range. It's good mid-range and great long range. The Z-Axis also isn't the best rod to present small flies (ants, tricos, bwo's) imo.

Ok, I am gonna try to be as nice as possible here. Give that rod a go with a quality casting instructor. There is no reason a 9ft 4wt Z-Axis can get a great trico/olive rod.

When you are coming down between a Z-Axis and a BIIIX you are talking feel. I like the Winston feel. The majority of most folks like the Sage feel (or more likely brand) but it is what it is. I have a lot of green sticks and really like Winstons over all feel. It used to be Winston had the "feel" and Sage had the "technical". I believe the BIIIx changed all that. Technically super rod with a great feel imo.

Which Z-Axis are you using for small dry flies and what is the problem you are experiencing? Are you talking about a 9' 5wt Z Axis? That might be the "problem".

Yeah the Z-Axis is a 9' 5 wt. I fish it almost exclusively and certainly catch fish at close range and with small flies, but it's not as accurate at close range as the more moderate action rods that I've used.

I'm willing to entertain the notion that I'm not adjusting my casting stroke etc., but I think to some degree it's bi-product of the rod.

My 905-4 Z is very capable of turning over a #26 midge at 50-70 ft. I think there are better options--something medium/medium fast for fishing in closer but the Z is incredibly capable IMHO and really shines with accuracy with longer distances. I haven't found anything yet this rod isn't capable of doing with some adjustment of course. I suppose you may be able to say this about most rods though.

well the way i see it fishing a size 26 midge at 70' requires a dry fly infront of it for visibility so ........ my question to you is ..........How does it cast a say size UM 12 stimulator with a midge behind it ?...

Tough crowd around the holidays. The point was not to create "controversy" but rather to say that the rod is capable of doing so and to illustrate that it's a versitile rod. One capable of throwing large streamers down to small drys. Period.

I don't find myself doing this often--if ever since, especially not for stocked fish on PA streams. The point was to illustrate versatility. Probably 4 casts at a rising trout on a spring creek with water on top that looked as smooth as glass. The rod at that point had never really been fished, so there was some experimental aspect to attempting to do so in order to see what he rod is capable of doing. Spring Creek fishing in Wisconsin is much different than what I am used to fishing PA freestoners. I'd imagine similar to PA spring creeks in some aspects, although I am far from an expert on those.

are the acsents or vapors any good? there's some building kits on e-bay for under $150. both are not really the traditional green sticks, go my guess is true wistonites don't care for them.I too wouldn't mind branching out from loomis or sage rods. T&T is another rod I'd like to try out.